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'Agunot' protest for the right to get a get

JENNY HAZAN

Mar. 16, 2003

While
many Israelis were trying on Purim costumes, about 30 women wrapped themselves
in orange scarves that read, "For the agunot [anchored women] and women refused
a get [religious divorce]," and chained themselves together on Sunday morning
in front of Jerusalem's rabbinical court.

The annual rally to influence the rabbinical court to make use of
its power to impose sanctions against husbands who refuse to accede to their
wives' requests for a divorce was held in anticipation of Monday's Fast of
Esther, which commemorates Queen Esther's plea for the support of the Jews
of Shushan, the capital of Persia.

Organized by the Jerusalem-based International Coalition for Agunah
Rights (ICAR) which includes over 25 groups including Emunah (the national
religious women's organization), Hadassah, the American National Council
of Jewish Women, and groups affiliated with the Reform and Conservative movements
the women gathered to protest the tyranny of the rabbinical courts, whose
allegedly narrow interpretation of Jewish law has denied scores of women
divorces, thereby preventing them from remarrying and bearing legitimate
children.

"The situation at the moment is that we have a lot of women who are
refused gets," said Lesley Sachs, chairwoman of ICAR, who estimated there
are thousands of women across the country waiting over a year to be issued
a get. Many are being blackmailed by their husbands, who insist their wives
give up their alimony and other legal rights.

"Under all circumstances, a husband has to agree in order for a wife
to get a get. A woman cannot get divorced, by Jewish law, if the husband
does not physically give her a get," said Sachs.

"At the same time, men can get permission to marry another woman
if a woman refuses to give a get to her husband. Not only that, he can have
children with another woman. But any child that she has is a bastard for
ten generations ahead. So, women who do not get a divorce can't have more
children.

"The rabbinical courts today have the ability to impose sanctions
against husbands who refuse a divorce. They can impose many sanctions, from
taking away a driver's license to putting a husband in prison. But we feel
they do not use these sanctions enough," she explained.

Batya Yieshpe, who moved to Israel from the FSU 25 years ago, knows
the story only too well. Her husband has denied her a get for the past 13
years, and despite the existence of a police report indicating that he physically
abused her the rabbinical court issued a mere recommendation to her husband
to grant her a divorce.

"I only hope all of the security shelters in this country are as
sealed as the institution of the rabbinical courts," said Yieshpe. "While
it's very, very sad to count the number of women whose husbands refuse to
give them a get, it's even more sad to count the number of graves of women
who have been killed by their husbands," she said.

Currently being represented by Osnat Shalom, a lawyer for Yad L'Isha,
the Max Morrison Legal Aid Center and Hot Line, Yieshpe is hopeful for the
future.

"If not for Yad L'Isha, I would not be able to continue," said Yieshpe.
"Until I got to this institution, I would stay in the house I was embarrassed
about my situation, I felt helpless. But once I got there and found help,
I was empowered to go forward with my case."

According to Susan Weiss, director of Yad L'Isha, which is currently
representing over 100 women in a similar boat, "One of the things we get
a lot of pleasure from is that the women who are going through this process
are really empowered by us.

Even though they don't know when it will end, they feel like they
have someone supporting them and being with them and guiding them through
the process, which can be very difficult."

Indeed, Yieshpe was one of few women at the rally who was willing
to be identified. Many wore masks in a demonstration of anonymity. "It's
something that many women are ashamed of," explained Sachs. "We feel that
we are their voices. We are fighting for them," she said.

"Every effort contributes and I think that we need an accumulation
of efforts like this. We need to constantly engage the Beit Din [rabbinical
court] until they realize that they have to come into the 21st century,"
added Weiss.